73 BUS SERVICE - BORDON -PETERSFIELD SAVED FOR ANOTHER YEAR

Commenting on EHDC's decision to fund the 73 Bus for another year Whitehill  Transport Spokesperson Cllr Adam Carew said  "Having been instrumental in the set up of the 73 Bus from Bordon - Petersfield I am delighted that EHDC have followed Whitehill Town Council's example and provided funding for another year.

As this bus only runs for one day a week we had been arguing for a change  from Thursdays to Wednesdays for years to allow people to use the market at Petersfield.  It comes as no surprise to us that the number of regular users has  more  than doubled as a result. At a  time when the County Council are cutting bus services left, right  and centre - its great to have a bus service that is such a success."

Shame of Bordon - its time for a clean up !

Whitehill Councillors Adam Carew and Philip Drury have called on East Hampshire District Council to help clean-up Whitehill and Bordon. The matter of flytipping in Whitehill Parish was put on the agenda of EHDC's Overview and Scrutiny Committee this week at the request of Cllr Carew. Giving evidence Cllr Carew and Cllr Drury drew EHDC's attention to scale of the problem.

Cllr Adam Carew said "The problem is horrendous. Almost everywhere you look in the town we see litter, fly tip and illegal dumping of garden rubbish. If the District is serious about our Green Town Vision then it needs to help clean up our town. Its bad enough for those of us who live here but what sort of impression does all this litter and fly tip leave for those who may want to come and live here or invest in our community."

Cllr Philip Drury said "The District council has powers to deal with fly-tipping but seems reluctant to use them. Whitehill Councillors made a fuss about this issue in 2003-4, a flytipping forum was set up. It met once, since then nothing has happened. We need a robust approach with some high profile prosecutions to set an example to others that dumping of waste is bringing down the neighbourhood and costing us all tax payers' money. Its just another form of antisocial behaviour that blights the lives of all of us and District need to start getting tough !"

Among the measures Councillors Drury and Carew have asked for are :

1. Closer co-operation with Whitehall Town Council, District and County Councillors

2. Re-launch of the fly tip forum to include local councillors, the MOD, landowners, the Deadwater Valley Trust, Housing Associations, businesses and community groups

3. Use of CTCV in fly tip hot spots

4. More press coverage about fly tip hot line to encourage residents to report problems

5. More press coverage of what the penalties are for fly tipping and more high profile prosecutions

6. Close co-operation with Drum Housing and other housing associations where there are problems

7. Examination of the low take up of EHDC's garden waste scheme in Bordon to see if garden waste charges are deterring people from using the service and resulting in illegal dumping

The matter is due to be brought back to EHDC's Overview and Scrutiny in April.

Hampshire Farepass not allowed on taxi-share in East Hampshire

Following a resident's enquiry, local Lib Dem Councillor Adam Carew has discovered that East Hampshire residents over 60 who are entitled to the Hampshire Fare Pass are not allowed to use it on taxi-share schemes that have replaced bus services cut by the County Council. (eg 221).

Although County Council are in favour of entering an arrangement with District Councils across Hampshire where buses have been cut and replaced by taxis, it appears that the one district council not entirely comfortable with the idea are Conservative run East Hants District Council.

Following a meeting of County and District Councillors and internal questions to officers from Cllr Carew, a paper is now due to go to EHDC cabinet in March on the subject, hopefully seeking approval.

Commenting County Councillor Adam Carew said  "It is totally unacceptable that Hampshire Fare passes are not accepted on taxi services that have replaced conventional buses in East Hants. These taxis are being provided following Conservative Bus Cuts at County Council and it is vital that East Hants residents are allowed to use their farepass on them. Tory run EHDC needs to get its house in order!"

More details on Taxi Share scheme

"Miserly County Council Grant could cause cash crisis for local Arts Centre"

Bordon's County Councillor demands Fair Deal for the Phoenix

Bordon and Whitehill County Councillor Adam Carew has expressed shock that the Phoenix Theatre and Arts Centre has only recived a grant of £3000 in the County Council's annual Arts Activity Grant Scheme this year.

Cllr Carew said  "I was horrified to read a County recommendation that the Phoenix had apparently requested £37,900 but are likely to get just £3000 and this only to be released subject to production of a business plan. In contrast the four Arts Centres directly run by the county Council get over £100,000 per year each!

I wrote to the Portfolio Holder and asked her to reconsider but this fell on deaf ears.

There is also a mistake in the County's report. The Phoenix have not actually requested £37,900 as they had a letter stating the maximum activity grant would be £15,000. The have however, indicated a serious shortfall of £23,900 pa. So clearly they hoped to receive the maximum grant and expected to seek other funding from elsewhere.

Although Councillors were provided with no comparative figures as to what other arts centres in Hampshire are getting I have been doing a bit of digging and discovered that Activity Grant funding to the Phoenix has been cut in real terms since 1997/8.

The County report states that "in the last year the (Phoenix) association has depleted its reserves and this is most concerning" The reserves have been slowly diminishing over the past three years and are due to cuts in various funding sources and increased running costs. The sad truth is that they are having to do this precisely because they are not getting the revenue funding they urgently need to keep going.

Following positive comments about the Arts Centre after a County visit in 2005 it was widely believed that County would increase grant aid to the Phoenix. When this failed to materialise I had extensive discussions with officers. Although they were unable to give any additional funding they did at least agree to send an officer over to advise the Phoenix on how to make themselves more commercially viable. This has happened and the Phoenix are very grateful for the support.

Thankfully Phoenix are very well supported by Whitehill Town Council and have been allocated £17,000 for 2007/8 . Yet, if the County Council are truly committed to the arts and the regeneration of Whitehill-Bordon then it should put its money where its mouth is and award the Phoenix the maximum £15,000 Activity Grant.

County are well aware of how well the Phoenix do to brighten our community on such a very tight budget.

The Phoenix staff are so committed that they even took a cut in paid hours to reduce the wage bill last year just to keep the centre running.

If significant grant allocations from County and other sources are not forthcoming the Phoenix could end up in serious financial difficulty.

To give a miserly £3000 pending on production of a business plan is insultingly insufficient, some may liken it to the kiss of death.

I have spoken too officers and agreed that we need an urgent meeting with the Phoenix to discuss the way forward in the coming months."

Government Bombshell hits PCSOs

Commenting on the Government's shock plans to axe PCSOs across the UK local County Councillor Adam Carew said

"I am appalled that the Government are to cut funding for the new PCSOs throughout the UK - this is likely to have a major impact across Hampshire and are going in exactly in the wrong direction. These cuts are totally unacceptable. Hampshire & IOW Police were in the middle of a recruitment campaign to increase the number of PCSOs from 26 to 539, supported by Government funding for their salaries. Now we have had the bombshell that the Government are cutting that support by 206 PCSOs, so Hampshire will now only get 333 instead! So much for Mr Blair's mantra about being tough on crime."

"The Police do an extremely hard job with the limited resources they are given, these fool hardy cuts come on top of budget problems that the Police already face because of demands for other things like more counter-terrorism work, new IT, and a whole host of other things that the Government insist upon but refuse to fund."

"I have spoken to local Police Inspector Laurence Rickwood to ascertain if the PCSOs on line for Whitehill sector are likely to be affected.

Lindford already has a fantastic PCSO in the shape of Jim Leggatt and obviously we are keen to have them here too.

Despite the cuts, two officers are scheduled to be posted to Whitehill police station on 27 December, one PCSO is to be allocated to the Whitehill & Bordon area.

I understand that Inspector Rickwood has requested a further two PCSOs for Whitehill & Bordon from later intakes and at this stage is not aware as to whether the cut in grant will impact on those additional posts. We can only hope that they will not be affected. "

Whitehill, Bordon and Lindford - Accessibility Survey

A Hampshire County Council accessibility survey is to hit doorsteps in Whitehill, Bordon and Lindford shortly. The aim is to find out how easy it is it for people living in Whitehill and Bordon to get around. For example, how easy is it for people to get to hospitals, visit a leisure centre, get to train stations or simply go shopping?

To help with this work a questionnaire is being sent to over 3000 households in Whitehill, Bordon and neighbouring Lindford. Copies will also be made available in Bordon Library and the Forest Community Centre.

Whitehill, Bordon and nearby Lindford division has been singled out as 1 of only 3 areas in the county for this pilot accessibility study to take place due to problems residents face in accessing a range of services.

County Councillor Adam Carew said "I strongly welcome this survey. This questionnaire has been put together by County officers with input from local councillors. We have long argued for more local facilities and better transport links. I urge as many people as possible to respond to this survey; the more information we have about residents' access to vital services the stronger our evidence base will be to get our community the extra facilities and transport links we so desperately need."

All questionnaires will be treated in total confidence and used only for the Whitehill and Bordon Accessibility Pilot.

Everyone taking part in the survey has the chance to win gift vouchers.